On Sixty Minutes tonight, Scott Pelley interviewed Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Hispanic justice on the court. She talked about the strong streak of stubbornness she possesses and how it helped her achieve her goals. At age 10, she decided that she wanted to become a judge. Because of her type 1 diabetes, she couldn't be a cop, but she was so intrigued by the lawyers and judges on the old Perry Mason tv show, that she wanted to capture that excitement as a lawyer. Princeton recruited her as part of the affirmative action program and her school nurse was outraged that she was selected over other students. She said that experience was repeated in her confirmation hearings. They questioned whether she was good enough or smart enough. So she perseveres, questions and works for the people. She visited her old neighborhood in the Bronx, an immigrant neighborhood, where they welcomed her home.
Stubbornness is an often undervalued trait. In school, it's sometimes punished rather than rewarded. One of the great things about Quest is that we teach the kids to keep going, that they can overcome obstacles, push through pain, carry more than they thought, work as a team. Although it's on a very small scale, it's such an important lesson.
I put in about six hours on writing today, maybe more. We broke it up with two long walks on another unseasonably warm, though rainy day. Tomorrow, I will have to cook again, I guess, since the spaghetti sauce and meatloaf are gone! The leadership chapter is taking more time than expected because I went back and reread interviews from two superintendents, Lee, Rick, and a few others to include their thoughts on the topic. I hope to finish tomorrow, but it may take two days.
A red tailed hawk high in a tree on Johnson St.
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